Parisian Bakery: Bechu Boulangerie

To be accurate, Boulangerie Béchu is a salon de thé. It’s located in the very chic 16ème arrondissement (quarter) of Paris. It’s in a very nice neighborhood spot across from the beautiful Place Victor Hugo. The bakery is very pretty with both Art Deco and Modern styles, a lot of beautiful olden-day mirrors and most important, once you walk inside, the intoxicating aroma of bread hits your nostrils. The place hasn’t changed a bit since the last time I visited it. In the magical capital of fine pastries, Béchu is probably one of the best Parisian bakeries you’ve never heard of. You can find all sorts of baguettes, pains (bread), flaky croissants, delicious pains au chocolat and an assortment of different flavors in the sweets.

I hadn’t been to Paris in two and a half years and I couldn’t wait to make my pilgrimage to Béchu. The pastries were just as good as I remember, but the service, unfortunately, was stereotypically French. The staff, at least the few I met, was not very welcoming. My husband Lulu and I were a little indecisive on which pastries to pick (we did buy a lot for only two people) and I found the staff to be pretty impatient even though the shop wasn’t very busy. I guess they’re used to locals who know exactly what they want to order. On top of that, they forgot the pains au chocolat in our order (my favorite pastry).

Complaints aside, the desserts are still fantastic; you can tell excellent ingredients are used. Each bite is amazing. The hazelnut feuillantine was perfection! A second favorite was the chocolate griotte (cherry) dessert. We also got a couple of sandwiches, which were extremely forgettable. I even ended up adding my own ingredients to them to make up for the lack of flavor.

Chocolate griotte dessert.

All in all, we’ll still keep coming back despite the service because the products are so great. If you decide to visit Béchu, maybe you’ll have better luck!